Many would argue the New Republic is no more, and some would argue it's been crippled beyond repair. The First Order unleashed its full power on the Galaxy by firing its superweapon, Starkiller Base, on the galactic capital of Hosnian Prime. The First Order destroyed the entire federal government with it, for all leaders were concentrated on the capital for President Rae Sloane's yearly address. Many would also argue that this was what most were praying for; an end to the corruption and bureaucracy, and totalitarianism of Rae Sloane…. and even the New Republic.
With Hosnian Prime gone, with the Congress, Inner Council, Supreme Court, and President all gone… there is no government. Only sixteen star systems successfully seceded from the New Republic before the Hosnian Cataclysm, being mostly Sector Governors and just a few Senators. The First Order has begun to unleash its might on the Galaxy, with worlds in the Outer Rim feeling their oppression first. Mygeeto, Ord Mantell, Ithor, Rhen Var, Mandalore, and dozens more now succumbed to First Order invasion, with fleets of Resurgent-class Star Destroyers deploying thousands of troops to their largest cities. The black and red banners of the First Order fly high in the skies, hanging off of the tallest skyscrapers and cliffs, letting every sentient being know who was in control.
Although, one faction was not going to let the First Order claim the throne of galactic control. The Resistance, also nicknamed the New Rebel Alliance, is not giving up so easily. As General Leia Skywalker of the Resistance travels to Coruscant to meet with remaining government survivors, and planetary leaders that do not wish to bend the knee to Supreme Leader Snoke, the rag-tag navy of the Resistance prepares for attack. The firing of Starkiller Base revealed its location on the edge of the Outer Rim and Unknown Regions, and the Resistance is on their way to destroy it. The cold war known as the Shadow War had ended, and the Great War had begun.
The Ackbar
MC85 class Star Cruiser
Admiral Raddus
"Admiral, we are coming upon System 66." informed a Mon Calamari officer on the bridge of the pristine yet old Mon Calamari warship, which led the Resistance navy through hyperspace. Admiral Raddus pressed his lips together as he stared out the panoramic viewport of his warship, glancing to the ships in front of him. There were four Free Virgillian Bunker-Buster frigates, the leading ship being the Ninka, commanded by Vice Admiral Holdo. Beside the three and a half kilometer long MC85 cruiser were two Nebulon-C frigates as well. The large formerly medical ships were twice the size of their predecessors, and carried three-times as much weaponry.
"Good." noted Admiral Raddus, "Inform Captain Jade that she is to deploy upon our arrival." the enormous Mon Calamari cruiser slowed from hyperspace, coming upon the bright white-blue planet of Starkiller Base. Smoke trailed out of its main cannon as it slowly rotated, turning in the direction of the nearest star. In a few moments, the rest of the Resistance fleet arrived from hyperspace; the Trade Federation.
Two Lucrehulk-class Battleships entered realspace behind the Ackbar, one on each side of the flagship. Six Providence-class Dreadnaughts entered the system as well, three above the Ackbar, and three below. Lastly, over a dozen Munificent-class Frigates appeared from hyperspace.. Admiral Raddus was relieved to see their allies arrived on time. He looked forward and saw an approaching blockade of First Order Star Destroyers. There were over two dozen of them, in a horizontal line protecting their superweapon of a base.
"All fleet commanders call in." ordered the heavyset Admiral.
"Vice Admiral Holdo present." chimed in the second in command of the Resistance Navy.
"Admiral Statura standing by waiting for further orders." spoke the third highest ranking fleet commander in the Resistance, located in one of the Nebulon-C frigates.
"Viceroy Gunray ready." added the head of the Trade Federation fleet, from one of the Lucrehulk battleships, "Main battleships in position, Dreadnaughts moving to frontlines as planned."
"Captain Jade, do you copy?" asked Raddus over the intercom.
"Yes, Admiral, I'm here." responded the woman through her comlink.
"Break a hole through that blockade so our bombers can get to Starkiller Base." ordered Raddus, "Gunray, I want you to deploy half of your starfighters to accompany Emerald Squadron and distract the TIE fighters."
"Understood, Admiral Raddus." validated Gunray. Raddus watched green marked X-wings and A-wings deploy from his ship, there were over fifty of them, being followed by a swarm of Vulture Droid starfighters from the Lucrehulk battleships.
The violet haired Mara Jade began flipping switches in her T70 X-wing as she led Emerald Squadron ahead of the Resistance fleet. The woman wore a black jumpsuit with a golden emblem of the Resistance on her chest, and also a standard Resistance piloting helmet. She had over fifty X-wings with her, and just over two dozen RZ-2 A-wings followed as well.
"Let's make this count, guys." said Mara. The forty-something year old woman was glad to be back at Starkiller Base, but this time fighting on the right side. She had been the apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, but defected sometime after the resignation of Leia Skywalker as President, and after Kylo Ren took the helm of the Knights of Ren. Kylo was a monstrous and distraught boy, he had lost his way, and Mara could sense he was hurting. She wanted to help Leia bring him back, and the only way to do that would be to bring the First Order down to its knees.
"Fighters unlock S-foils and spread out, we have TIEs incoming!" ordered Captain Jade, grabbing her throttle firmly, as she stared at the incoming wave of black and silver TIE fighters. She heaved the throttle upward, and spun her versatile X-wing, pressing down on the main weapons to unleash a blast of four purplish-red lasers on a group of enemy fighters. Jade broke off of formation, as did the other fighters, disbanding, and letting the Vulture droids swarm in larger numbers.
Jade shot down TIE fighter after TIE fighter, and kept looking over her shoulder to her wingmen, fellow Captains that led smaller squadrons, yet were merged with Jade's for the mission. There were two of them, Captain Nirus, a male Abenedo in his late thirties, who flew an X-wing that had green and gold coloring to it. The second was Captain Tallie Lintra. She was a young human female in her early twenties, and had a romantic interest with fellow Captain Poe Dameron. Lintra flew in her personally modified A-wing that was painted in a blue and silver scheme, rather than the standard red and white.
"I've got three on my tail!" exclaimed Tallie. Jade looked around ahead of her, and spotted Tallie in the chaos of the fight. She was swaying and maneuvering side to side, trying to evade the three TIE fighters.
"Tallie, circle back around, you're getting too close to the Star Destroyers!" ordered Jade.
"I'm - I'm trying!" the girl was shot on the portside, rear wing, and rocked viciously. The TIE fighters began firing more frequently and with more intensity. Lintra tried spinning, but was shot again by another TIE fighter. She was getting closer and closer to the blockade of enormous, dagger-shaped, First Order star destroyers. Jade pushed her throttle forward, flying as fast as her fighter could, but the X-wing wasn't as fast as the A-wing. Jade tried firing at the TIE fighters, but was too late. The closest Star Destroyer opened fire on Lintra, blasting its point-defense cannons, blowing Lintra out of space and into oblivion.
Jade stared with wide eyes at the smoldering explosion of the A-wing, and Tallie with it. She shook her head, there was no time to mourn. There would be many losses that day, and she couldn't let death stand in her way again. They had a mission to complete.
Rey and Poe Dameron
Takodana
Rey walked alongside Poe Dameron on a dusty dirt path winding away from the landing zone, where they landed the Corellian freighter, and were walking to a large stone structure of towers. Rey looked up and around, at the trees to her right that led into a forest, and the sandy beach to her left that led to the expansive sea-like lake. She admired the warm breeze brushing past her face and hair, the warmth of the golden sun high in the sky, it wasn't as scalding hot as on Jakku. It was a nice change.
"What is this place?" asked Rey, as the two walked up towards the entry courtyard of the castle. Rey looked up, and on the walls hung countless banners of factions, organizations, and cartels. High above the main door on the roof was a statue of a alien being with goggles, holding her hands high in the sky.
"Maz Kanata's Castle. Maz has been running this place for a thousand years now." answered Poe, "She can help us get to D'Qar, I don't think that freighter is going to make it."
"D'Qar?" questioned Rey, "Is that where that map points you to?"
"Map?"
"Don't act dumb, I know he gave you a map." said Rey, putting her hands on her hips right before they reached the steps to the front door. Poe scratched the back of his head,
"Well, you're going back to Jakku. You're not coming with me."
"What? There's nothing for me on Jakku." said Rey solemnly, "The First Order burned it down to the ground. Besides, my family isn't there."
"Your family?" questioned Poe.
"They left me on Jakku, and I have to find them. My mother, and my father." said Rey. Poe was unsure what to say to that, the chances of finding her parents after so long would be pretty slim if not impossible. The fact they left her on Jakku was a sign she should've noticed, but he wasn't going to say anything. The girl was remarkably skilled at piloting, perhaps she could become a useful member of the Resistance. Poe patted the girl on the back, and headed for the front door, which slid open.
"Keep your eyes to yourself, you don't want to attract any attention from anyone in here." said Poe. Rey was stunned by the immediate odor of alcohol and fermenting foods inside the cantina-like entrance. There were various species of aliens at tables, drinking and eating small foods. Many of them eyed Rey as she walked past them, keeping close to Poe. BB-8 followed right behind Rey, and also looked around at the hard-faced alien smugglers, pirates, and traders.
"So now you show your face here?!" shouted a woman's voice, and Poe looked over his shoulder, stopping, and Rey bumped into him. The music stopped and so did all the talking, and Poe saw across the room who it was. Rey gulped nervously, and saw a short alien woman hop off a stool from behind a counter, walking around it, and heading towards Poe. She was orange skinned, had goggles on that made her eyes seem huge, and was very wrinkled. The drunkards and people in the cantina resumed their drinking and conversations, and the music started up again.
Poe looked down at the orange alien,
"Maz, it's so good to see you." said the Captain nervously. The short alien put her hand on her hip and gestured for Poe to kneel down, to get at her eye level. Poe got down on one knee, and Maz slapped him across the face.
"I've been worried sick, with the attack and all."
"Attack? How do you know about Jakku?" asked Poe.
"No not Jakku, Hosnian Prime." said Maz, yet could see on Poe's lost facial expression he didn't know what was going on. She looked up at Rey, and feld an odd connection to her. Maz signed, "Come, come with me."
"Han, set them up with some refreshers." said Maz, walking over to a quieter section of the cantina, where a white haired man cleaned a few mugs behind a counter. He wore a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, and nodded to Maz, but froze when he saw Poe Dameron. Poe slowly walked up to the bar,
"General Solo… haven't seen you in…"
"Not a General anymore, kid." said Han Solo, the former Civil War General, putting down the mug on the countertop. He looked at Rey, "Who's this?"
"I'm Rey." answered Rey, before Poe could, "We have a map to Luke Skywalker, and we need your help to get to him." Han let out an exhale, and rubbed his eyes, not paying attention to Poe scolding Rey for revealing their mission so quickly.
"That's not gonna happen." said Han, crossing his arms.
"The First Order destroyed Hosnian Prime." added Maz, sitting on a stool beside Poe, taking a bite into a red fruit, "The Republic is gone."
"That's what we saw then…" realized Poe, looking to Rey, "We saw the beam travel through hyperspace. Any word from General Skywalker?"
"No." answered Han abruptly, pressing his lips together.
"That's not entirely true." said Maz, shaking her head, "News outlets are saying she's calling any surviving government officials and planetary representatives to Coruscant. That's where you should go."
"They also say they're attacking the First Order's base." said Han solemnly, picking up another mug to clean with a blue rag.
"Then that's where we'll go." said Rey with ferocity.
"We need to find Luke first." said Poe, "That's what General Skywalker ordered us - me to do." looking at the brown haired girl, where she slumped in her seat, unsure how to counter his argument. She was ready to bring the fight to the First Order immediately, no waiting, no patience.
Han was about to say something, but was interrupted by a guttural roar from a Wookiee, coming from the side of the cantina. Everybody turned their heads to see what was going on, and they saw a tall Wookiee scolding a shorter alien being. There were a few spilled drinks on the ground, and Maz sighed as she hopped off her chair.
"Hey! What's going on?!" exclaimed the alien woman, and Han lightly chuckled at Chewbacca's innocent face. He was a bit afraid of Maz, and it was understandable.
"General…" spoke Poe, leaning up against the bar counter, "What happened? Why… why aren't you in this fight?" Han's smile disappeared, and he put down the mug along with a few other clean glasses underneath the countertop. He pulled up a stool from behind the counter, and sat down, folding his hands together.
"It's a long story kid." exhaled the former smuggler, and former First Gentleman to the President of the New Republic, "My family… just wasn't working out. My son, he's a lost soul."
"I heard of him." nodded Poe slightly, "He was a strong Jedi, according to many… well, according to General Skywalker."
"The Jedi couldn't save him, Leia couldn't save him, I can't, nobody can."
"That's not true." butt in Rey, with wide eyes, and Han looked to her, "You have a family, that's what's important first of all. You shouldn't toss it aside because of a few mishaps… you try to make it work." Han looked away from Rey, to him, those words hit him like a slap upside his head. He felt tears swelling in his eyes as he thought about his son, and how long it had been since he saw him… over a decade. Han never even really said goodbye to Ben… he never visited Ben at the Jedi Temple during his childhood… and he did not want to look back at that part of his life.
The Finalizer
Resurgent-class Star Destroyer
General Armitage Hux
"Don't let that Resistance cruiser through!" screamed the fiery haired and red faced General of the First Order Army, and leading commandant of the blockade over Starkiller Base. The General was met with scrambling officers and technicians, trying to target the incoming MC85-class cruiser, the Ackbar. The elongated Mon Calamari cruiser was cruising through space, protected by its nearly impenetrable shield that blocked any laser fire from the blockade of star destroyers. Hux looked out the viewport to his right, where an entire First Order star destroyer was in flames, veering backwards toward Starkiller Base. Its engines gave out from the Resistance Y-wing bombers, and the gravity of the massive superweapon was pulling the ship. Hux looked to his left, and another two star destroyers were completely torn apart.
Hux looked forward, his heart racing, his hands trembling. A-wings and X-wings whisked past the bridge of Hux's flagship, heading towards the superweapon.
"I swear to the gods of every race, that if that Mon Calamari cruiser gets through, the lot of you will be shot out into space to die!" screamed Hux.
"I'm going out there." spoke a voice, coming from behind. Hux looked over his shoulder, seeing Kylo Ren approach him in the center of the glossy floored bridge.
"The Supreme Leader did not say you could, so you're not going anywhere." said Hux, looking away from Kylo, and back out the viewport. He looked to the two Lucrehulk battleships that were accompanying the Mon Calamari cruiser, Ackbar. In front of each of the old battleships were a Nebulon C frigate and numerous Providence-class Dreadnaughts. The old Separatist Dreadnaughts were going head to head with the Resurgent destroyers, protected by the Ackbar's shield envelope that reached over to them. The Providence Dreadnaughts sent volleys of red lasers from its heavy, quad, turbolaser batteries on its hull, right underneath its small command bridge.
"You obviously are failing at your task." said Kylo loudly, putting on his helmet, "I'm not going to let the fate of the First Order rest in your hands." Hux clenched his fists, and didn't say another word to Ren. Kylo turned around and began walking out the command center. Hux bit his lip angrily, to the point it nearly began to bleed, watching his TIE fighters get blown out of space and his blockade reduced to smithereens.
The Ackbar MC85-class Star Cruiser
Admiral Raddus
Members of the crew cheered enthusiastically and filled with hope as the main squadrons of the starfighters made it past the blockade of Resurgent class Destroyers, and the blockade was only made up of two star destroyers at that point. Admiral Raddus let out a sigh of relief, yet remained seated straight in his chair,
"Fight's not over yet!"
"Admiral, we have a ship coming out of hyperspace!" called out an officer.
"Who is it?" asked the gruff voiced Admiral.
"Callsign: Millennium Falcon." responded the young human officer. Raddus couldn't help but don a small smile, and looked around in space. In a few moments, right above them, appeared a circular, flat freighter.
"Re-establish the open frequencies!" ordered the Admiral.
Millennium Falcon
"This is Han Solo of the Millennium Falcon-"
"And Captain Poe Dameron!" added the young pilot, seated behind Han Solo who piloted the old ship, and Chewbacca that was co-piloting the ship. Rey sat behind Chewbacca, looking out the viewport in amazement at the battle that had unfolded in front of them. Entire star destroyers smoldering in flames, broken apart into chunks and pieces of scraps, she was amazed at the sight. It was beautiful in a way.
"General Solo, it's good to know you're back with us!" spoke Admiral Raddus through the transmission, "It's my pleasure to inform you that our largest squadron of starfighters have breached the base's atmosphere, and is on its way to its main reactor."
"I didn't realize how big of a fleet you guys managed to acquire." said Han, looking around in space as they flew, noticing the old Federation warships, and literally countless Vulture droid starfighters finishing off the remaining TIE fighters.
"You can thank the High General about that." Han smirked, that sounded about right. His wife putting it all together, organizing the fleet, getting the right allies, attacking head on. Before Han could respond to the Admiral, he noticed the last remaining Star Destroyer was turning away from the Resistance fleet.
"Hey, Admiral, I think this last ship is trying to make an escape." noted Han. The last Resurgent-class Star Destroyer side was facing the Resistance fleet, yet its shields were holding strongly against the bombardment of lasers. The hangar was opened, and Han stared at it. Chewbacca grumbled nervously, looking to his companion.
"I know. He's on that one. He has to be." noted Han quietly.
"Uh, General, what are you doing?" asked Poe. Han was flying towards the Destroyer, not paying any attention to the incoming laser fire from the Resistance fleet.
"Solo, what are you doing? You'll get hit by our lasers!" immediately spoke Admiral Raddus.
"Admiral, you need to calculate where that Destroyer is gonna jump to, quick!"
Coruscant
Senate District
Old Corusca Hall
The fifty three year old High General of the Resistance, and former President of the New Republic, walked slowly up the steps of the old Corusca Hall. The octagonal shaped building was home to the old Inner Council of the Old Republic and Empire. It held the office of the Emperor, and Grand Vizier. It was a relatively low-rise building, with eight spires on each of its corners, and surrounded by expansive landing platforms. Ever since the end of the Empire and birth of the New Republic, Corusca Hall was closed off to the public and government, deemed a painful part of galactic history. But to Leia, it was key to the Galaxy's resurrection.
It was nearly sunset, and she was accompanied by half a dozen Resistance troopers. There were hundreds of other guards present as well, they all had different types of armor, of different species and races, for they were the guards of the representatives called to the old Galactic capital. She slowly looked up at the entrance of the building, the large glass doors that had a tint of blue and swirling designs of white and silver on them. It had been more than fifteen years since Leia had been here, it was bringing back old memories. The Force was fluctuating, it was rippling and beating in her head, beating in her heart. It reminded her of the first day she went to the Galactic Senate Building, she was just a teenager, going to watch her mother hold session. In those days, the days of the Empire, Padme Amidala-Skywalker was the Grand Vizier of the Empire, second in command to Emperor Zaoku. She organized and presided over the Imperial Senate, and she inspired Leia. Her ferocity, tenacity, and strength was what made Leia want to become a member herself; to be the change she wants to see. During the day, her mother maintained order in an Empire where systems were beginning to notice the oppression and corruption, and in the night… she was the one who organized said notices. She funded the Rebellion, she supported it, she put together its leadership, she urged star systems to leave the Empire and fight it. The Rebellion might not have had happened in the first place if it weren't for Padme Amidala, it wouldn't have stuck. There wouldn't have been a New Republic.
Now, three decades after the Battle of Yavin, the time had come to once again reassemble a broken Galaxy. A Galaxy on the verge of complete destruction because of the First Order. Fear was rampant, and chaos was spreading as people had no clue what was to happen since the destruction of Hosnian Prime, and the entire federal government. It was now up to Leia Skywalker.
"On this day, the eighth of the first month of the new Coruscant year, thirty five years after the Battle of Yavin; the star systems of the known Galaxy come together in the face of oppression." boomed Leia Skywalker, standing in the middle podium tower, on the tiered desks and podiums of the main chamber of Corusca Hall. The enormous and cavernous chamber rivaled that of the old Senate Building, yet was octagonal in shape, with thousands of seats, and a main aisle cutting from the door to the chamber, all the way to the main floor. The floors were scorched and marked, there were lightsaber cuts and blaster marks. It had been the site of Emperor Zaoku's final showdown with Grand Master Yoda on the night of the Jedi Purge. To the ceiling, there was once a domed glass window, but it had been destroyed, and was replaced by sheets of durasteel. Before Leia in the semi-circular seating were just over a hundred people, people of all species and races, which didn't fill up the chamber at all. There were less than a dozen hovercam droids floating in the chamber, recording the event, and broadcasting it on live holonet...
"The Republic is dead." continued Leia, surprising many of the listeners and representatives, "But we are still here. Today we mark the beginning of the New Constitutional Convention. It is up to use to redesign the government, make it the way it was meant to be, fix the flaws of the past, and prevent anymore messes from happening again. We shall center our new Galaxy around the shared powers of the central government and the sectors. We shall be a United Federation. United sectors whose rights of sovereignty are protected and enshrined. A United Federation of Sectors where our freedoms can never be abridged, never be altered, never be touched. A government built to protect and serve the people of this Galaxy."
The chamber of planetary delegates erupted into applause, a hopeful applause, many beginning to rise to their feet. From the farthest seats the delegates cheered and whistled, throwing their applauding hands into the air, chanting Leia's name. Chills ran down Leia's back as she stood at the podium, nodding, accepting the applause. She was relieved they were all so open and warmed up to the idea, she was fearful they'd be difficult and stubborn. She feared that they wouldn't even show up to Coruscant, that they'd be too fearful of the First Order. They had every right to be. Leia looked around at all the individual faces of those before her, each and every delegate. Men and women from the Core; wealthy and flamboyant-clothed delegates from Anaxes, Corulag, Rendili. Men and women from the Inner Rim and Colonies; Corellia, Duros, Cato Neimoidia, Carida, Commenor, Manaan, Zeltros. The Mid Rim; Naboo, Ruusan, Bimmisaari, Kintan, Ithor. The Outer Rim; Ryloth, Tatooine, Serenno, Raxus, Iego, Boz Pity, Jabiim, Rothana, Bespin… so many more. Yet, not only those in the chamber were listening. Her speech was being broadcasted across the Galaxy, through holonet, reaching billions.
"The First Order is trying to shroud and smother the Galaxy with a cloak of oppression." boomed Leia, "But we shall combat that shroud with hope. Hope is an energy so bright, so powerful, nothing can extinguish its flame. With hope…" the applause died down, and Leia looked around as she slowly nodded, "with hope we can do anything. We can fight for what we love, and conquer what we fear."